CENTRESPREADGREY Advertising N1.14billion debt mess has taken new dimension. Our investigations reveal that the agency and its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Kolawale Ayanwale collected the sum of N850million facility from Skye Bank Plc. in 2014 to run All Progressives Congress advert campaign in the last election and the loan was payable within 12 months.

We gathered that the agency has been paid by the APC for the services it rendered during the campaign and yet the agency for reasons best known to it refused to pay back the loan. Insiders at Skye Bank squealed to us that, it’s a clear act of sheer wickedness on the part of CENTRESPREADGREY Advertising and its CEO, Mr. Kolawale Ayanwale to refuse to honour the loan terms when they’ve been paid by the APC.

The million dollar question on the lips of many people in the advertising industry now is that what did CENTRESPREADGREY Advertising and Mr. Kolawale Ayanwale did with the money APC paid them that they could not pay back the loan since the agency is not a manufacturing company.

Mr. Kolawale Ayanwale, CEO of Centrespread Limited

Our sources at Skye Bank told us that since CENTRESPREADGREY Advertising and Mr. Kolawale Ayanwale in an affidavit deposed in court agreed that they are owing the bank only  N525,007,700 out of N850million loan, they should pay the N525,007,700 and while the court hears the substantive suit.

For those who don’t know, CENTRESPREAD and its Chief Executive Officer, Kolawale Ayanwale are currently enmeshed in a court action with Skye Bank PLC over the alleged indebtedness of the company and Mr. Ayanwale to the bank.

From the court documents filed in Suit NO: LD/2362GCMW/16, CENTRESPREAD and its Chief Executive, Kolawole Ayanwale had taken Skye Bank to the Lagos High Court over alleged attempts to sell a property which they claim is worth N1.5billion pledged as collateral for a N850m facility granted CENTRESPREAD by the bank.

In an affidavit deposed to by CENTRESPREAD, it alleged that the balance outstanding on the N850million facility was only N525,007,700 and that it had requested the bank to restructure the facility from 12 months previously agreed to 48 months to enable it repay the facility. From the court documents, the N850million facility granted Centrespread in 2014 was payable within 12 months.

Skye Bank in its response claimed that the waivers previously granted CENTRESPREAD in approving the N850million have been forfeited by CENTRESPREAD in view of its breach of the terms of the offer and in addition is counterclaiming the sum of N1,144,299,158.97 which it says is the accrued balance on the facility.

Skye Bank has also alleged that it never acceded to the request for a restructure by CENTRESPREAD and that the claims by CENTRESPREAD are just a subterfuge to delay payment of the amount owed it. It has also asked the court to order CENTRESPREAD to pay the sum of N525,007,700 which CENTRESPREAD had alleged was outstanding in its affidavit while the court hears the substantive suit.